Monday, August 15, 2011

We're baking cake today. In my blistering hot kitchen, which doesn't lend itself to working with chocolate mousse but whatever! I'm on a mission. A cake mission.

So today we have a rich, moist chocolate cake. A simple, reliable chocolate cake recipe for folks who love their cakes uber-moist-a-licious. I've eaten this midnight-hued cake plain and unadorned many times, but today I could not resist filling it with bitter-sweet chocolate mousse and glazing it with ganache.

Now I have made a chocolate cake on the blog before. A high ratio chocolate cake; light, tender and loaded with butter. Butter cakes are great and no one can deny the taste of butter is fantastic in baked goods. However when you prioritize moistness over fluffiness in your cakes, oil not butter is what you should look for in a recipe. Oil based cakes are best when dealing with a strong flavored cake, one where you won't miss the flavor of butter, like chocolate, spice or carrot.

The cake is quite easy to make. No fussing over the crucial creaming step that is so important to butter cakes (and so difficult in hot kitchens). Best of all: No cake flour required! I know this will please those of you who cannot get your hands on the stuff.

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Place a rack in the lower third of the oven and set a baking stone on it. (The stone helps the cake bake evenly and prevents humped tops. If you don't have a stone, the cake will survive don't worry. Just be prepared to trim any uneven tops and make sure the cake gets an adequate amount of time in the oven to fully cook.)

You'll need two 9" or two 8"cake pans for this cake. Spray the pans with non-stick spray oil and then line them with parchment (sides and bottom--this is a sticky cake) then spray the parchment with even more non-stick spray.

In a medium sauce pan, combine the sugar, dutch processed cocoa, salt and baking soda. Stir with a whisk until combined and then slowly add the boiling water while whisking. This will bubble up a bit while the baking soda reacts with any remaining acidity in the dutch processed cocoa. Once throughly mixed, place the sauce pan over medium-high heat and bring back to a boil. Then remove from heat and allow to stand for a minimum of 10 minutes. This step makes the dutch processed cocoa even more alkaline, so our cake will be nearly black.

While waiting on the chocolate mixture, get your mise en place goin' on! Measure out the flour, buttermilk (no weird substitutions, folks. We need the acidity), and separate the eggs. (If you're odd like me, you'll remove the stringy white chalaza from the yolks. Sometimes they show up as white scrambled egg bits maring my otherwise perfect black cake.) Add the oil and vanilla to the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment (this can also be done by hand with a wooden spoon).

When the chocolate mixture is ready, stir in the instant espresso powder. (This won't make the cake taste like coffee, rather it enhances the chocolate flavor of the cake. Dutch processed cocoa has great color but it isn't quite as flavorful as it's light-colored acidic cousin, natural cocoa.) Add the chocolate mixture to your stand mixer and mix on low speed for about 20 seconds. Add the flour and continue to mix on low until combined. With a minimum amount of beating, add the egg yolks, eggs, vanilla and butter milk. The batter will be very thin.

Divide the batter between your two pans and place in the oven on your baking stone. Bake for 25-30 minutes (for 9" rounds. Add 5-7 more minutes for 8" rounds) until the center of the cake springs back when you touch it. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Run a thin knife around the edge of the cake to loosen and invert onto a flat dish lined with parchment.

Allow to cool completely then wrap the rounds individually in plastic and place in the refrigerator to chill before assembling.

You can use it as is, with the frangelico for a hazelnut chocolate mousse or substitute cold coffee or water for a simpler chocolate mousse. The chocolate can range anywhere from 35% cacao to 66%, depending on how dark you want the mousse. Allow the mousse to chill for a minimum of 4 hours before using.

Assemble your cake by placing one round onto your serving platter. Reserving 3/4 cup for garnish (keep chilled), spread the mousse to form an even layer on top of the cake. Top with the second cake round, touching up the sides with an offset spatula if necessary. Place the cake in the refrigerator to keep cool and prepare the ganache.

Measure out the chocolate into a bowl. Bring the butter and heavy cream to a low boil over medium-high heat and pour over the chocolate. Give the chocolate a shake to submerge and allow to stand for 5 minutes without stirring. When the time has passed, then you may gently stir the ganache until smooth.

Pour the ganache onto the cake, smoothing over the top with an offset spatula. Return the cake to the fridge and allow the ganache to cool.

When cool, you can put the finishing touches on the cake. Take the reserved chocolate mouse and fill a piping bag, fitted with a large star tip. Drop 6-8 splotches of mousse around the perimeter of the cake and top with chocolate covered coffee beans or malted milk balls.

Keep the cake chilled until ready to serve. Then allow to stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. Store the cake in the refrigerator, covered to keep it from absorbing odors, for up to 5 days.

This looks delicious to me but I just last week for my son's 5th birthday, made him the Hershey's chocolate cake with chocolate frosting (as cupcakes) for his class and some people said it was "too chocolately"...as if there was such a thing! Do you think I'll run in the same problem with this recipe? Maybe make the cake but use a vanilla frosting? Thanks!

The recipe as a whole is chocolatey. The cake alone isn't overwhelming but when you add ganache and mousse... well, you get the idea.

A vanilla frosting would work just fine with the cake, if you want to avoid getting the stink-eye from those who don't go ga-ga for chocolate. If it were me though, I'd bring bran muffins for anyone who dared complain about my cupcakes. :)

this is fantastic!! wow, i learned something new! oil vs. butter in cakes. i thought butter made cakes richer and more moist while oil made it fluffier. wow. and i am so surprised that the ganache is strong enough to hold up the weight of the cake! this is so pretty. i want to try veganizing it.

i am hosting a cakebloghop on my blog right now and i would LOVE for you to link up so that others can find this awesome recipe. hope you join the #cakelove fun!

Oh my, oh my.... I am drooling right now. It's gorgeous!!! This is the perfect one to bake as a gift for my friends who will celebrate Idle Fitr at the end of August (and for myself too..hehe). Thank you so much!!! After I bake this cake, can I post it in my blog and make a link to your blog (this page)?

Well, I made it. It looks like it will taste great, but I won't know for a few hours.

I collapsed all the cake pieces, crumbled them all into pieces by accident, couldn't spread the mousse because it was too thick, and couldn't dissolve the chocolate completely into the ganache.

So it turned out to be a chocolate desert... thing. I put it in a deep, decorative ceramic serving dish, with the bottom layer as the best preserved half of the cake, the middle layer as a bunch of mousse, the top cake layer as crumbled pieces of cake, and then a layer of ganache with chocolate chips in it on top to make it look a little better and to finish everything off.

So I may fail at cake presentation, but it should still taste the same.

I'm salivating a little. This looks insanely chocolatey (which is only a good thing. I don't speak to people who don't like chocolate).

The sister has her birthday coming up at the end of this month and when I asked her for her birthday cake request she said "Just chocolate." I think I've found just the chocolate cake for her! Will definitely have to give this a go.

Yummy, this looks so good! Did this take long to make? Thanks for the info on cake moistness and fluffiness when looking for butter or oil recipes. I wonder if it would be a huge difference if the recipe calls oil, and you use butter

SInce butter contains water (15-17%), you can't readily swap it for oil without risking some baking trouble.

The cake didn't take much hands on time to make. It also assembled quickly and quite easily. The mouse was the biggest hassle and even that isn't too difficult. However given the amount of baking I do, I admit to a warped perspective on what is "quick" and "easy".

Cadfan,

If the cake broke up when handling or when removing it from the pan, a couple tips: Allow the cake to cool completely before handling, since warm cake is prone to breaking. Consider drop in bottom pans. They make removing cakes a breeze. I have a set of 6" drop in bottoms and they almost feel like cheating.

Also, as for the ganache if it isn't coming together properly, add little more hot cream. Ganache comes in such a range of ratios of cream to chocolate that you can be flexible with the recipe. The only thing that is really important with the ganache is how to mix it (slowly and lovingly) after allowing the hot cream to sit with the chocolate.

Add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to the bottom of a cup measure and then add AP flour to fill the cup. Sift 2-3 times, and then measure your flour from that mixture (obviously you'll need to make more than 1 cup worth if you need more than a cup of cake flour! :) )

It hasn't let me down so far, and it sure is cheaper than Softasilk! >.<

Thanks for the enlightenment. Another question that puzzles me too, does it really make a difference as to what kind of oil to use? For example, if it asks for canola oil, can I used vegetable instead? I haven't seen cakes that ask for oil olive, maybe the fact of it being too heavy? I'd love to make it this weekend, I still have a lot of leftover buttermilk from making red velvet cupcakes. I'm excited!

Oil choice is mostly due to flavor. With cakes you want to chose a neutral flavored oil, one that wont alter or overpower the cake's flavor. Olive oil is an exception. There are olive oil cakes and the oil is often used to compliment the cake's flavor.

When it comes to this cake, I would use whatever you have on hand that is light and flavorless. Safflower oil is usually my first choice for baking, but canola and other light, relatively flavorless vegetable oils will do just fine.

This cake looks so delicious and has a really apt name! Would love to try baking this without the garnishing:) Need to cut down on the calories!Oh and can I reduce on the sugar? Would it affect the texture of the cake?

I know all about watching the calories, trust me. I've been dieting since I had my little boy in May and have finally taken off the 30lbs of baby weight. Not easy in my line of work, by the way.

Anyway.

One of the best ways to shave calories off a dessert is to simply cut a smaller piece. I'd much rather have a sliver of a rich full flavored cake, than a larger chunk of one that isn't quite as good. That's my approach.

Of course, there are recipes where adjustments and substitutions can be made to make things lighter and more flavorful without sacrificing quality. However, the sugar in this cake isn't something I would toy with much. It isn't just there for sweetness, it also ensures moistness which is one of the things that makes this cake so good.

Everyone else, looks like one cannot substitute other acids for the buttermilk. At least, not lemon juice. I may retest the recipe with a vinegar based substitution and will update the post when I have the opportunity.

I made this for a friend's 40th birthday party. It was awesome! Followed recipe to the T like a lab protocol and it was challenging and fun. Tip: When traveling with this cake be sure to keep cakes and mousse chilled, assemble on site, and cut with a very sharp knife. Got rave reviews- taste was outta sight!

Question: Is it *just* to a boil? Little bubbles at the sides of the pan? I think I boiled my chocolate mixture too long ... the batter turned out thick, not thin at all. It's currently baking and just smells a bit burnt ... eep.

By standard cake ratios this cake seems to have too much baking soda, yes. However, this recipe is different since the baking soda is going to first react with the acid in the cocoa on the stovetop. Too little baking soda and there won't be enough oomph leftover in the mixture when it comes time to do the job in the oven.

So, no. Please do not reduce the baking soda. It is correct for this cake's method. If the batter isn't contained by your pans during baking, then their volume is a bit too small for the recipe. You may need to divide it into three layers for those pans. 8" rounds, particuarly the type that have short sides (1"), may not be suitable for this recipe. Larger rounds would be better, or higher sided cake pans. I bake in high sided cake pans(3") but this cake does not fill them completely and should be fine for shorter pans in the 2" range.

Do you think the each cake could be split into 2 layers? (to make 4 in total)

Also, I am hoping to cover it with a white chocolate ganache frosting. From what I can gather, I need to make the ganache then cool it and once it is cold I should beat it until it resembles frosting. Does that sound right?

Thanks! I didn't end up cutting the layers as they sunk a little in the centre. The ganache was wonderful, I actually ended up filling the cake with white ganache and covering it with the chocolate mousse. (and filling the dip in the centre with maltesers)

Ms. Humble you have a new fan! Just been reading this whole ENTIRE page and have been re-inspired! You are exactly thetype of baker blogger I have always imagined there would be,so cool! I'm a chef and soon pastry chef in Australia and will be stepping out in the wonderland of sweets at the end of my course. And your words and food has done what the best places in Melbourne have only been able to do to me...inspire! Love it mate n I'll be making this masterpiece of simplicity tonight in my paradise at home,the kitchen. Your a godsend and a pleasure to read. Cheers!

The cake was baked in light colored heavy gauge aluminum pans, fully lined with parchment and spray-oil. There was no crust formation.

You might find that darker colored pans absorb more heat and thus apply more heat to the edges of the cakes (resulting in domes and crusty edges). Insulating pan strips or light finish pans helps this. Greasing and flouring the pans can also cause light brown discoloration around the edges of chocolate cakes.

The precise color of your cake will depend on your brand of dutch processed cocoa. While we do process the cocoa on the stovetop to deepen the color, the darker colored the dutch cocoa is to begin with, the darker the cake. Hershey's Special Dark is a readily available dark dutch cocoa that will produce the above result.

I had to make this cake after seeing how delicious it looks. Right now, I'm in the middle of preparing the cake. I've made the mousse which seems pretty firm when I scooped a little to taste. Will it spread well at the refrigerated temperature on the cake or should I let it soften at outside the fridge a little?